This candle painting craft is the perfect way to add a little personalized glow to your space! Simply melt colourful tealight candles and use the wax to paint, creating a one-of-a kind candle design that’s unique to you! It’s a fun and simple craft, perfect for older kids and adults.
These painted candles make great homemade gifts for Mother’s Day, birthdays, housewarmings, or any other special occasions. Whether you’re making them for yourself or to give to friends and family, this DIY decor is sure to bring some warmth and personality to any room!
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DIY Candle Painting
Materials:
Equipment:
- Paintbrush (thin)
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Paint the flower stems
- Choose the colours of tea lights to “paint” on your candle. We chose yellow, green, and pink.Light them and allow a pool of wax to form.
- Dip a fine-tipped paintbrush into the coloured wax.
- Paint the shape you want on the side of a plain pillar candle. We painted flower stems using green wax.
- Add 1 to 2 more layers of the same coloured wax overtop of the design to create a deeper colour. Wipe your brush with a paper towel after every few dips into the wax. This removes the wax buildup on the brush and prevents the design from being wiped off the candle.
- Any mistakes can be carefully scraped with a toothpick. This can be done to clean up the edges too.
Step 3: Add the leaves and flowers
- Add small lines of green onto the stems for the leaves. Use a different colour (we chose purple) to make flowers at the top of the stems. Paint 5 small petal shapes, starting from the center of the flower. Make sure the inner part of the petal touches the one next to it. Use a toothpick to clean any areas of the flowers that need fixing.
- Create a spot in the center of the flower, if needed. Paint a yellow dot in the center of the flowers.
Step 4: Create more flowers
- Repeat to create a second group of flowers just beside the first.Try to draw the stems at different angles and heights, or use different colours of wax for the flower petals to add variety.
- Continue adding more groups of flowers around the candle until you get back to where you started.Try to space your flowers nicely. Remember to continue wiping your paintbrush after every few dips into the wax.
- Your candle painting is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- If you make a mistake or don’t like how your design is turning out, you can simply wipe it off with a paper towel before it cools. Then you can paint another design on the candle!
- Instead of using a thin paintbrush, you can also try a silicone paintbrush. These work great for painting with wax because there are no bristles for the wax to get stuck in. Simply wipe the tip clean as the wax starts to cool.
How can I start over on my candle painting?
If you decide you don’t like your design, but the wax has completely dried and cooled, don’t worry! Your design can still be removed.
Place a heat gun or hair dryer near the design for a few seconds. As you apply the heat, you’ll see the coloured wax start to liquify. Wipe it off with a paper towel.
You may need to repeat this process a few times to get the entire design off. Work your way slowly around the candle. Be careful not to hold the heat source over the candle for more than a few seconds at a time, or the actual candle may start to melt instead of just melting the design!
Once your painting has been removed, let the candle cool completely before painting on it again.
Does my pillar candle have to be white for painting candles?
We chose white for our candle painting, but you definitely don’t have to use white. Pillar candles come in many colours, so pick the one you like best and enjoy painting on it!
Paint with wax colours that will stand out on the candle colour you’ve chosen. Or you can even use white tealights to paint on a coloured base!
Do I have to use a pillar candle to paint candles?
We like use pillar candles for candle painting because they have a lot of surface space to decorate, but you can also paint taper candles. You can even buy candle painting kits that include different styles of candles!
These painted candles are melting hearts as the perfect DIY decor! Each one will have its own colourful charm, and you can paint whatever design you like. Whether you place your candles together as a centerpiece or light them up for a cozy evening, they’re sure to shine!
Here’s even more candle craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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